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Description
In the early morning as the sun rises over the Guassa Community Conservation Area of Ethiopia, gelada monkeys (Theropithecus gelada) start waking and heading into the highland fields to graze on grass. As the monkeys head to the grasses, so too do some Northern Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis simensis) as the canids go hunting. The red canids walk right into the groups of monkeys, yet the primates aren't their intended prey and the wolves leave them alone, instead intending to catch rodents flushed out by the feeding behavior of the monkeys. One adult male gelada, feeling kinda curious about these wolves that don't ever seem to harm them, sticks out a hand and pats the canine just because why not, and the wolf just goes with it.

Drawing made for International Monkey Day (December 14). So one thing I only just found out recently was that gelada monkeys and Ethiopian wolves seem to have some sort of symbiotic relationship at times and was inspired to draw this.

Also called the bleeding-heart monkey, the gelada is a relative of baboons and a large (around 75-centimeter long) ground-living monkey found only in the highlands of Ethiopia (an east African country) of altitudes of almost 2 kilometers above sea level, where few trees grow so the monkeys instead eat mainly grass and sleep on cliff ledges to avoid predators. The monkeys are sexually dimorphic, the males being larger and shaggier (having almost lion-like manes). While not currently deemed endangered, their populations are believed to be dropping due to conflict with farmers and global warming forcing them higher up their home mountains to heights of suitable temperature for their grassland habitat.

Deemed one of the most endangered extant canids, with possibly less than 500 individuals alive globally, the Ethiopian wolf (also called the Simien jackal) is found exclusively in high-altitude plains in Ethiopia and faces threats from habitat loss, human conflict and feral dogs that hybridize with them and spread disease like rabies. Two subspecies are currently recognized, one northern and one southern, the latter having larger nasal bones. While other large canids tend to be generalist predators, the Ethiopian wolf specializes in hunting burrowing rodents, though on rare occasions it may take young goats and antelopes. It does indeed form packs, but doesn't hunt as a group, instead each pack member splits off during hunting time to individually catch rodents.

In one small population of Northern Ethiopian wolves, some of the canids have been observed hunting among grazing troops of gelada monkeys, and while baby geladas are small enough for the wolves to hunt, the wolves just pretty much ignore the monkeys, and the monkeys also don't respond to the wolves as if they were threats (but do flee if they spot feral dogs). It has been found that the wolves were hunting rodents among the monkey troops, the burrowing small mammals being disturbed and flushed out of their burrows when the geladas pluck grass, making them easier for the wolves to spot and catch. In fact the wolves have a 67% success rate when hunting among monkeys, whereas those hunting away from the primates have only a 25% chance of successful hunting, so clearly this tactic works well. While this may be reminiscent of the early stages of how our human ancestors domesticated grey wolves into dogs, it is unlikely the relationship between geladas and Ethiopian wolves will get that far since this doesn't really seem to benefit the monkeys at all. In fact the behavior isn't even that common, having only been observed in one location, the Guassa Community Conservation Area of Ethiopia, and even in there only a few of the wolves present do this. It's possible this behavior used to be more common when both animals were more widespread and their ranges overlapped more, and the traditional hunting methods are being forgotten in wolf culture.

I know the wolves and monkeys mostly just mind their own business and ignore each other but given how intelligent and curious primates are, I just can't help but imagine a gelada trying to touch or pet one of the Ethiopian wolves simply put of curiosity. Ground-living monkeys like macaques and baboons also tend to be bolder and more willing to get close to potential threats than arboreal ones, and some urban areas in Asia have big macaque problems due to this (same with some African towns and baboons). So yeah this scene is a little speculative but the thought of a monkey patting a canid that won't hurt it sounded nice to me.

Description
In the early morning as the sun rises over the Guassa Community Conservation Area of Ethiopia, gelada monkeys (Theropithecus gelada) start waking and heading into the highland fields to graze on grass. As the monkeys head to the grasses, so too do some Northern Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis simensis) as the canids go hunting. The red canids walk right into the groups of monkeys, yet the primates aren't their intended prey and the wolves leave them alone, instead intending to catch rodents flushed out by the feeding behavior of the monkeys. One adult male gelada, feeling kinda curious about these wolves that don't ever seem to harm them, sticks out a hand and pats the canine just because why not, and the wolf just goes with it.

Drawing made for International Monkey Day (December 14). So one thing I only just found out recently was that gelada monkeys and Ethiopian wolves seem to have some sort of symbiotic relationship at times and was inspired to draw this.

Also called the bleeding-heart monkey, the gelada is a relative of baboons and a large (around 75-centimeter long) ground-living monkey found only in the highlands of Ethiopia (an east African country) of altitudes of almost 2 kilometers above sea level, where few trees grow so the monkeys instead eat mainly grass and sleep on cliff ledges to avoid predators. The monkeys are sexually dimorphic, the males being larger and shaggier (having almost lion-like manes). While not currently deemed endangered, their populations are believed to be dropping due to conflict with farmers and global warming forcing them higher up their home mountains to heights of suitable temperature for their grassland habitat.

Deemed one of the most endangered extant canids, with possibly less than 500 individuals alive globally, the Ethiopian wolf (also called the Simien jackal) is found exclusively in high-altitude plains in Ethiopia and faces threats from habitat loss, human conflict and feral dogs that hybridize with them and spread disease like rabies. Two subspecies are currently recognized, one northern and one southern, the latter having larger nasal bones. While other large canids tend to be generalist predators, the Ethiopian wolf specializes in hunting burrowing rodents, though on rare occasions it may take young goats and antelopes. It does indeed form packs, but doesn't hunt as a group, instead each pack member splits off during hunting time to individually catch rodents.

In one small population of Northern Ethiopian wolves, some of the canids have been observed hunting among grazing troops of gelada monkeys, and while baby geladas are small enough for the wolves to hunt, the wolves just pretty much ignore the monkeys, and the monkeys also don't respond to the wolves as if they were threats (but do flee if they spot feral dogs). It has been found that the wolves were hunting rodents among the monkey troops, the burrowing small mammals being disturbed and flushed out of their burrows when the geladas pluck grass, making them easier for the wolves to spot and catch. In fact the wolves have a 67% success rate when hunting among monkeys, whereas those hunting away from the primates have only a 25% chance of successful hunting, so clearly this tactic works well. While this may be reminiscent of the early stages of how our human ancestors domesticated grey wolves into dogs, it is unlikely the relationship between geladas and Ethiopian wolves will get that far since this doesn't really seem to benefit the monkeys at all. In fact the behavior isn't even that common, having only been observed in one location, the Guassa Community Conservation Area of Ethiopia, and even in there only a few of the wolves present do this. It's possible this behavior used to be more common when both animals were more widespread and their ranges overlapped more, and the traditional hunting methods are being forgotten in wolf culture.

I know the wolves and monkeys mostly just mind their own business and ignore each other but given how intelligent and curious primates are, I just can't help but imagine a gelada trying to touch or pet one of the Ethiopian wolves simply put of curiosity. Ground-living monkeys like macaques and baboons also tend to be bolder and more willing to get close to potential threats than arboreal ones, and some urban areas in Asia have big macaque problems due to this (same with some African towns and baboons). So yeah this scene is a little speculative but the thought of a monkey patting a canid that won't hurt it sounded nice to me.